EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

Acts 19:1-41

Good News for Everyone

Acts

Marion Adams

Chapter 19 Paul in Ephesus, 19:1-10

v1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul was travelling. He travelled through the *province on the higher road. He arrived at Ephesus and he found some *disciples there. v2 He asked them, ‘Did you receive the *Holy Spirit when you became *believers?’

‘No’, they replied, ‘we have never even heard about a *Holy Spirit!’

v3 Paul asked, ‘So, what *baptism did you receive?’

‘John’s *baptism’, they replied.

v4 Paul said, ‘John’s *baptism was for people to show that they had *repented. John told them that someone else was coming after him. They must believe in that person. That person was Jesus. They must believe in Jesus.’

v5 When they heard this, they received *baptism in the name of the *Lord Jesus. v6 Paul put his hands on them and the *Holy Spirit filled them. They spoke in languages that they did not know. They also *prophesied. v7 There were about 12 men in this group.

v8 Paul went to the *synagogue. For three months, he spoke boldly to the people there. He discussed God’s *kingdom. He argued with them and he tried to convince them. v9 But some of them were *stubborn and they would not believe. They said evil things about the Way of the *Lord to everyone there. So, Paul left them. He took the *believers with him and they went to Tyrannus’s lecture hall. Every day, they had discussions there. v10 This continued for two years. It continued until all the *Jews and *Greeks in Asia had heard the *Lord’s message.

Verses 1-2 Paul did not use the main road to Ephesus. He travelled along the higher road. It was shorter but not as busy. He was now in the *province called Asia. He met a group of men in Ephesus. Luke says that they were *believers. But Paul realised that something was very wrong with their *faith. So, he asked them whether they had received the *Holy Spirit. Nobody had told them about the *Holy Spirit!

Verses 3-4 They had received *baptism from John or one of his *disciples. Paul explained that this was not enough. They must follow Jesus now, not John. John’s *baptism was to prepare for when Jesus came. Now Jesus had come. He had done his work on earth and he had returned to God, his Father. He had sent the gift of the *Holy Spirit.

Verses 5–7 So, the men received *baptism in water for a second time. It was *Christian *baptism, in the name of the *Lord Jesus. This time, when Paul put his hands on them, the *Holy Spirit filled them. They received gifts from the Spirit. They spoke in ‘tongues’ (see note on Acts 2:4). They also *prophesied.

Verses 8-9 Then Paul went to the *synagogue. When he was in a new city, he always did this first. He *preached about God’s *kingdom. The *kingdom has come by means of Jesus, the *Messiah. His *kingdom is here for all who accept him as *Saviour and *Lord.

Paul *preached like this for three months. He tried to persuade the people there to believe what he taught. As had happened before, some *Jews opposed him. They closed their minds to God’s truth. They wanted other people to do this too. So, they said very bad things about the ‘Way’ (see note on 18:25).

Paul had to leave. He found somewhere else to *preach. It was a building like a school. People came to hear lectures there. We do not know anything about Tyrannus. Perhaps he owned the hall. Paul probably used the hall from the end of the morning to the end of the afternoon.

Paul continued to make tents (see Acts 20:34). He probably did this work in the early morning. Paul and the other *Christians had so much energy! Their energy came from God. This was because they were so eager to do his work. God always gives us enough energy to do things for him.

Verse 10 Paul stayed in Ephesus for two years. Many people in Asia came to Ephesus to do business. They also came to *worship the *goddess Artemis. So, Paul had many chances to *preach to many different people, both *Jews and *Greeks.

The seven sons of Sceva, 19:11-20

v11 God gave Paul the power to do extraordinary *miracles. v12 People took cloths that Paul had used or worn. They brought these cloths to sick people. All the sick people became well again and evil *spirits left them.

v13 Some *Jews who were wandering about tried to use the *Lord Jesus’ name to force out evil *spirits. They said to the evil *spirits, ‘I order you! Come out in the name of Jesus, the same Jesus about whom Paul *preaches.’

v14 Seven sons of Sceva, a *Jewish chief priest, were doing this. v15 One day, an evil *spirit spoke to them. It said, ‘I know Jesus and I know about Paul. But I do not know you!’ v16 The man with the evil *spirit in him attacked them. The evil *spirit hit them and hurt them. They ran out of the house. They were naked and they had injuries.

v17 The *Jews and *Greeks in Ephesus heard about this. They were very afraid and they respected the name of the *Lord Jesus even more. v18 Many *believers started to tell everyone about the evil things that they had done. v19 Some of them had done magic. They brought their books and they burnt them in public. These books were worth 50 000 silver coins. v20 In this manner, the *Lord’s message continued to increase in power and it spread widely.

Verses 11-13 When Paul made tents, he probably wore a cloth round his head. This helped him to stay cool. He would also cover his clothes with cloth. This protected them from dust and dirt. The people in Ephesus took these cloths. When sick people touched the cloths, they became well. Evil *spirits left them too.

The cloths did not have special powers. Paul did not have special powers. The power to cure came from God. In his *Gospel, Luke records that a sick woman touched Jesus’ coat (Luke 8:43-48). Jesus felt power go out from him. The woman became well immediately. Jesus told her that she was well because of her *faith. The ‘extraordinary *miracles’ remind us about this.

God cures in many ways. When people have *faith in Jesus, God’s power to cure is there. The name of Jesus has power over evil *spirits too. Some *Jews realised this. So, they used Jesus’ name to force out evil *spirits. But people must not use Jesus’ name like magic. They must know Jesus as their *Saviour and *Lord. They must trust him and obey him. If they do not, they are in danger. To show this, Luke recorded what happened next.

Verses 14-16 Luke describes Sceva as a ‘chief priest’. But there was never a *high priest called Sceva in *Jerusalem. He may have belonged to a family of a *high priest. Or he may have been a priest of a false *Roman religion.

People paid Sceva’s seven sons to force out evil *spirits. They knew that Paul used Jesus’ name to force out evil *spirits. They knew how powerful Jesus’ name is. So, they copied Paul. They had no authority to use Jesus’ name. They had not accepted Jesus as their *Saviour and *Lord. An evil *spirit realised this. It realised that they had no power to make it leave. So, it attacked them. It is dangerous to use Jesus’ name wrongly! But the story also reminds us that *believers have authority over evil *spirits. If Jesus is our *Lord, we can use his name.

Verse 17 The news about Sceva’s sons spread. People realised the power in Jesus’ name. There were two reactions to this. People were afraid. They also continued to give honour to Jesus’ name.

Verses 18-20 Many people in Ephesus performed magic. Even some of the new *believers performed magic. They had heard what had happened to Sceva’s sons. Now they wanted to turn away from magic completely. They *repented. To show this, they destroyed their books about magic. The books cost a lot of money but that did not matter. They wanted to obey God.

God hates magic (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). When people become *Christians, they must turn away from magic completely. They must destroy all their things that have any connection with magic.

When the *believers in Ephesus destroyed their books, many more people believed in Jesus. They saw that the *believers’ *faith was real and true. They realised the power that Jesus has. The fifth part of Acts ends at verse 20 (see ‘About this book’ above).

Demetrius complains about Paul, 19:21-27

v21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to *Jerusalem. He decided to pass through Macedonia and Achaia on the way. ‘After I go there’, he said, ‘I must also go to Rome.’ v22 He sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia. They were two of his helpers. Then he spent more time in the *province called Asia. v23 At this time, there was a serious problem in Ephesus. The problem was about the Way of the *Lord. v24 There was a man who made things from silver. His name was Demetrius. He made models of Artemis’s *temple from silver. Artemis was a *goddess. The people who worked for him earned much money. v25 So, he asked them to meet together. They met with other people who did similar work. Demetrius said, ‘Men, you know that we have a good income from this work. v26 But you can see and hear what this man Paul is doing. He says that the gods that people make are not real gods! He has convinced many people in Ephesus and almost everywhere in Asia. He has persuaded them to turn away from Artemis. v27 This is dangerous! People will say bad things about our business. Also, people will stop respecting the *temple of the great *goddess Artemis. Asia and the world *worship Artemis. People may stop believing that she is powerful!’

Verse 21 Paul had established a strong *church in Ephesus. Now it was time to travel again. The word ‘decided’ here means ‘he made plans in the Spirit’. God was guiding Paul. God was telling Paul where he must go. He must go to Rome. But Paul did not intend to stay there. He was on his way to Spain (Romans 15:24; Romans 15:28).

But first, he wanted to encourage the Christians in Macedonia and Athens. He also wanted to collect money from these Christians. This money was to help the poor Christians in *Jerusalem. They were poor because people had *persecuted them. Also, there had been a *famine. It was important to Paul to collect this money. He mentions it in his letters (Romans 15:25-31; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 1 Corinthians 16:2 Corinthians Chapter s 8-9). But Luke mentions it only once (Acts 24:17). Luke records other events that he thought were more important.

Verse 22 Paul sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him to Macedonia. This was probably to help to collect the money. Luke wrote that Paul stayed longer ‘in the *province called Asia’. This shows that he did not stay only in the city called Ephesus.

Verses 23-24 Ephesus was famous as a place where people *worshipped Artemis. This Artemis was not the same as the *Greek and *Roman *goddess, Artemis the hunter. Artemis of Ephesus was the mother-*goddess of Asia. Many people who *worshipped her performed magic. Her name had much evil power. People called her the ‘Queen of everything that exists’. They also called her ‘*Saviour’ and ‘*Lord’. This is very wicked. There is only one *Saviour and *Lord: the *Lord Jesus *Christ.

Artemis’s *temple was in Ephesus. It was bigger than the *temple in Athens. Many people earned money by making models of it. These models contained a little model of Artemis. People bought them to *worship Artemis. In Ephesus, people who made things joined unions. These were groups of people who did similar work. They helped and supported each other. Probably, Demetrius led the union for people who made things from silver.

Verses 25–27 Demetrius asked the union to meet. He wanted to speak to them about Paul. Paul *preached about the one genuine God. People cannot see God. They cannot make images of him.

Paul urged people to turn away from false gods that people make with their hands. If they did this, they would not buy the models of Artemis’s *temple. This was bad for Demetrius’s business! He was very angry. He seemed to be upset because people might *reject Artemis. More likely, he was angry because he would not make money. He did not care whether Paul was right.

‘Artemis is great!’ 19:28-34

v28 When the crowd heard this, they became very angry. They started to shout, ‘Great is Artemis, the *goddess of the Ephesians (people from Ephesus)!’ v29 This soon upset the whole city. Some men seized Gaius and Aristarchus. Gaius and Aristarchus had come to Macedonia with Paul. They all rushed to the theatre.

v30 Paul wanted to go out and speak to the crowd. But the *believers would not let him. v31 Some of the local officials were Paul’s friends. They, too, sent him a message. They urged him not to go to the theatre. v32 People at the meeting were confused. Some people were shouting one thing. Other people were shouting something else. Most people did not know why they were there! v33 There was a man called Alexander. The *Jews pushed him to the front of the crowd. Some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He waved his hand. He tried to explain what was happening. v34 But they saw that he was a *Jew. So, they all shouted together, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians (people from Ephesus)!’ They did this for two hours.

Verse 28 Demetrius’s workers were angry too. They did not want to lose their good income. So, they began to shout. The people in Ephesus were proud of their *goddess and her *temple. So, the workers reminded them by shouting ‘Great is Artemis, the *goddess of the Ephesians!’ They wanted the people to join in with them against Paul and his ‘foreign’ God.

Verse 29 The meeting probably started inside. But now the workers had gone outside into the streets. They upset everyone in the city. Probably, more people joined the noisy crowd.

They went to the theatre. Public meetings happened in the theatre in most cities. The theatre in Ephesus was very big. There was room there for 25 000 people! On their way there, the crowd seized two of Paul’s helpers. Aristarchus was from Thessalonica. Later, he travelled to *Jerusalem with Paul.

Verses 30-31 Paul wanted to speak to the crowd. But this was not an ordinary meeting of citizens. These people were very angry. They were shouting all the time. The *believers would not allow Paul to speak. Neither would the local officials.

These officials were called ‘asiarchs’. Asiarchs were the chief citizens of Ephesus and other cities in Asia. Every year, one asiarch would be *high priest for the *Roman religion. Asiarchs were very loyal to the *Roman *Emperor. Luke records that some of these asiarchs were Paul’s friends. Again, Luke is showing that *Christians were not opposed to the *Roman government.

Verse 32 With humour, Luke makes it clear that this was not a proper meeting. Most people did not know why they were there!

Verses 33-34 Paul was a *Jew. People in Ephesus knew that *Jews did not *worship Artemis. So, the *Jews were very worried. They knew that the people were *pagans. But they wanted them to know that they opposed Paul too (but for different reasons).

They thought that the crowd might start to be angry with them because of Paul. So, they chose Alexander to explain this. But the crowd would not let Alexander speak. Alexander was a *Jew. They knew that he did not *worship Artemis. They had become angry with everyone who did not respect the *goddess of their city. They were too angry to listen to anyone! They just shouted the same words again and again.

An important official talks to the crowd, 19:35-41

v35 At last, the official of the town made the crowd quiet. He said, ‘People of Ephesus! Ephesus is famous as a place to *worship the great Artemis! Everyone in the world knows this. Everyone knows that her image, which fell down from the sky, is here. v36 Nobody can say that this is not true. So, you must be quiet. Do not do anything suddenly. Think about it first. v37 You have brought these men here. But they have not robbed *temples. They have not said evil things about our *goddess. v38 Demetrius and his workers may want to complain about these men. If they do, then we have courts and judges. They meet on regular days. Let them accuse these men in the courts. v39 You want to do more than that. If so, you must settle the disagreement in a legal meeting of citizens. v40 Already, people could accuse us of starting a *riot. This is because of what has happened today. We cannot give a reason for this noise and confusion. There is no excuse for it!’ v41 After he said this, he told the people to leave.

Verse 35 The official of the town was the most important official in Ephesus. His job was to write records of meetings. He knew that this meeting was not legal. He would have to report it to the *Roman government. The *Roman rulers would be very angry. They did not allow *riots. So, the official had to control the crowd quickly. If he did not, the *Roman rulers might blame him for the *riot.

The official had authority and people respected him. So, they stopped shouting and they listened to him. He showed that he agreed with them. Ephesus was famous for Artemis’s *temple. The whole world knew this. He reminded them that they had Artemis’s image. This was probably a meteorite (rock which falls to earth from space). In ancient times, people believed that meteorites came from the gods.

Verses 36-37 Then, the official urged them to stop and think. Gaius and Aristarchus were not criminals. They had not robbed *temples. They had not insulted Artemis.

Verses 38-39 At that moment, Gaius and Aristarchus were innocent men. If Demetrius wanted to accuse them of crimes, he must do it properly. The official reminded him about how to do this. Demetrius could accuse them in the local law courts. Or he could go to the citizens’ meeting. This meeting happened three times in every month.

Verses 40-41 Then, the official warned the crowd. The *Roman government could accuse them all of starting a *riot. Sometimes, the *Roman rulers gave people terrible punishments for this. The people in Ephesus had no excuse for their bad behaviour. The official’s words scared the crowd. When he ordered them to leave, they did this. There was no more trouble.

Again, Luke shows that *Christians were not doing anything against *Roman law. They were not a danger to society. So, the *gospel could continue to spread across the *empire.

province ~ a principal division of a country that people govern from another country. Rome ruled the provinces that Luke mentions in the book called ‘Acts’.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
disciple ~ someone who follows another person and he or she learns from that person; someone whom Jesus taught. It also means someone who believes in Jesus. This person also does the things that Jesus teaches.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
believer ~ a person who knows *Christ and accepts him.
baptism ~ when someone baptises someone; when the Holy Spirit comes into a person when they know *Christ.
baptise ~ to put a person into water, or to put water on a person; how we show that *Christ has made a person clean; to send the Holy Spirit into someone, which God does; to show to everyone that a person belongs to *Christ together with other people; to show to everyone that a person is in the church.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
repent ~ to stop doing sin and then to obey God; to change from past evil behaviour; to let one’s mind change, so that one stops doing wrong things.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
Lord ~ the name for God or Jesus in the Bible; the name means that he is above all other things; a name that we use for Jesus when we obey him; someone with authority.
prophesy ~ to tell about things that will happen in the future; to speak a special message with God’s help and authority (or to speak a false message from a false god).
synagogue ~ a building where Jews gathered for prayer. They went there to study the scriptures. And they went there to attend other public meetings.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
scripture ~ the Bible, the book that contains God’s holy messages; the Old Testament.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.

Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
kingdom ~ where a king rules; a country where a king rules. God’s kingdom is where God rules.
stubborn ~ when people do not want to change their ideas, even when they are wrong.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
Greek ~ the language that the people from Greece spoke; the language in which authors wrote the New Testament; a person from Greece.

Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil. This shows that God has chosen him or her.

New Testament ~ the Bible’s last part, which the writers wrote after Jesus lived on earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the church. It is about what Christians believe. And it is about what they do.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
saviour ~ Jesus, the person who saves us; the person who will bring us back to God from the bad things that we have done; someone who saves us from the bad things that other people have done to us.
save ~ to rescue from sin’s result.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
goddess ~ a false female god.
miracle ~ a wonderful thing that God does by his power; a wonderful thing that happens.
spirit ~ a person’s spirit is the part in them that will always be alive. It will be alive even after his or her body is dead. There are good spirits. Those include God’s Spirit and his angels. There are also evil spirits. These include Satan and his angels.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people that live on earth.
Satan ~ the name for the worst spirit among the evil spirits, who are against God. He has another name, which is the Devil. He is God’s enemy.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew; or it describes anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
Gospel ~ a book at the beginning of the New Testament. There are 4 Gospels. They are called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
gospel ~ the good news about Jesus; the message that Jesus came to save us.

'high priest ~ the most important priest in the Jewish Temple.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew; or it describes anything that belongs to a Jew.
temple ~ a building where people worship God (or a false god).
Temple ~ the Temple was the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
Jerusalem ~ the capital city in Israel.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Jerusalem ~ the capital city in Israel.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
Roman ~ a person from Rome; a word that describes someone from Rome; or it describes something from Rome. The Roman soldiers fought against people in many countries. And they defeated them. They made the people obey the rules that officials in Rome made. They made the people pay taxes to Rome.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
temple ~ a building where people worship God (or a false god).
Temple ~ the Temple was the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
Jerusalem ~ the capital city in Israel.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
persecute ~ to attack people because they believe in *Christ; and to hurt them for that reason.
famine ~ when crops do not grow, so that there is not much food.
reject ~ not to accept.
emperor ~ the most important ruler in Rome.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
pagans ~ people that worship a false god or gods.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
riot ~ when an angry crowd complain about something. They make lots of noise and they sometimes fight.
Gospel ~ a book at the beginning of the New Testament. There are 4 Gospels. They are called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
gospel ~ the good news about Jesus; the message that Jesus came to save us.

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